Managing Data Center Organizing your way to an easier Job

The Need For Organization Previous chapters talked about strategies for designing a reliable, easy-to-understand Data Center. Now we will discuss effective management of the room. A Data Center that is thoughtfully designed and strategically managed takes less time to supervise because: – The room's layout and infrastructure are easy to understand and work with – Less accidental downtime occurs due to mechanical failure or human error – Costs are avoided because fewer alterations to its cabling or electrical infrastructure are needed – More equipment can be accommodated because floor and cabinet spaces are used to greater effect

No matter how well-designed your Data Center is— how robust, modular, flexible, standardized, and intuitive its layout is—the Data Center can't be productive if it is allowed to fall into disarray. Ex: library, if the books that have been read aren't returned to their proper place on the shelves. The greatest resources becomes practically useless under those circumstances. Question: Does your company have a Data Center manager, someone who designs, supports, and oversees all of your company's server environments? The Need For Organization (Cont.)

Organizing Equipment: Form vs Function The first step in managing a Data Center begins the moment the room comes online and incoming equipment arrives. There are four common approaches for arranging servers within a Data Center 1.Clustering devices with similar functions. 2.Organizing them by internal business group or department. 3.Grouping models made by the same manufacturer. 4.Not organizing them at all, simply filling server cabinet locations on a first-come, first-served basis It is also important, though, to consider which of them makes the room easiest to manage. Although there is no one right way to organize the equipment in a server environment, some require less time and effort to maintain than others.

1- Clustering by Function Gathering machines together based upon what they do can result in either a homogenous or heterogeneous mix of equipment, depending upon whether your company standardizes upon one server manufacturer or not. If it does, the approach is essentially the same as option three, grouping by manufacturer, and therefore has the same advantages and disadvantages. If it doesn't, the approach is probably similar to option two, organizing by business group.

2- Organizing by Business Group in practice it is one of the simplest Data Center organizational plans to manage. For one thing, this approach tends to distribute equipment models throughout the Data Center, which leads to fewer peaks and valleys of infrastructure demand. server rows can be assigned to the manager of each business organization, making them responsible for the upkeep of their own floor space. Example: Group A wants to decommission a dozen older servers and replace them with newer models that require different power receptacles

Be aware that this benefit is reduced if your Data Center has applications or networks that tie equipment together regardless of their physical location in the room. 2- Organizing by Business Group (Cont.)

3- Grouping by Manufacturer While placing all of the same machine models together in a Data Center creates uneven pockets of demand upon the room's infrastructure, this approach can be easy to maintain in the short term. A drawback of having server rows support only one type of machine is that it limits your flexibility when allocating floor space for incoming equipment. Management difficulties can also arise over time when a given type of server either outgrows its assigned floor space or else needs to be decommissioned and upgraded.

4- Not Organizing at All Initially, this approach doesn't require any effort, certainly not on the part of whoever would otherwise have to allocate floor space. Data Center users just move equipment into whatever server cabinet locations are available. As the room fills up, however, problems can emerge. System administrators who maintain servers must work in all areas of the Data Center, and downtime on the part of a networking device might cut off access to machines that are performing many different functions. Problems aren't isolated to a particular group. Also, because no one truly controls how space or infrastructure is allocated, Data Center users might swipe electrical receptacles and data ports from unclaimed cabinet locations or even try to claim more server space than they require. Only consider this approach in very small server environments, perhaps a room with three server rows or less

Planning for Growth You want servers and networking devices to be distributed across the Data Center so that the room is easy to use, equipment is logically arranged, and demands upon the infrastructure are even and manageable assign space in your Data Center—from the beginning—with an eye toward how you want the fully-occupied room to be. Anticipate future equipment growth. Besides setting aside a dedicated growth path outside the server environment, leave empty rows throughout the Data Center as you assign space.

Ex: we have 3 Groups (A, B, C) – Group A doesn't expect any future growth. – Group B has servers to occupy one row, but can't predict whether it is going to need a lot more hosting space in the future or none at all. – Group C has servers to occupy one server row right away and is expected to fill a second row over the next twelve months. The 1 st arrangement: Group A in Row 1, Group B in Row 2, and Group C in Rows 3 and 4 (and every thing is perfect) BUT this will lead to problems. Planning for Growth (Cont.)

It concentrates the heating and electrical load in the Data Center into a small area, which can cause hot spots unnecessarily. It might also trigger nuisance alarms in your power distribution units. clustering the occupied rows together doesn't enable a group to grow into additional rows and yet still remain contiguous Planning for Growth (Cont.)

Allocating floor space so that rows alternate between empty and occupied makes it easier to accommodate future space needs by business groups as well as distributes the draw upon the Data Center's infrastructure. Planning for Growth (Cont.)

Controlling Incoming Equipment the people who buy servers either know or care relatively little about the environment that houses them. They make purchasing decisions based upon the equipment's performance, cost. While all of that is important, little or no consideration is given to whether an item is compatible with the Data Center. To avoid this, establish a review process in which all Data Center-bound items must be examined and approved before they can be purchased. It is much easier to head off potential problems with a device while it is still on someone's shopping list than if it is sitting on your loading dock

Several factors should be considered when reviewing a device for its compatibility with your server environment: – Footprint: Does the item (whether a server cabinet or floor-standing server or storage device) fit conveniently within your server rows? – Power needs: Does the device need power receptacles that are significantly different from what your Data Center typically provides? – Weight load: How much does the item weigh? The more weight that is placed in a small area, the more difficult it can be for a Data Center floor to support Controlling Incoming Equipment (Cont.)

– Serviceability: How easy is it to service or upgrade the device? Servers that are the most Data Center- compatible can be accessed and worked upon while the device remains mounted in a cabinet. – Equipment exhaust: Does the equipment produce an above-average amount of heat? the larger the burden it places upon a Data Center's cooling infrastructure – Wheels: Does the item have casters? If you're evaluating a server that is going to be installed in a server cabinet, you don't want wheels because the item could roll off of a cabinet shelf Controlling Incoming Equipment (Cont.)